Really quite simple, my definition. Works every time. Dignty is "choice". "Your money or your life! Stand and deliver!" At least it's a choice. Some people have more dignity than others because they have more choices. More choices probably comes with more resources, of money, of intelligence, of friends, of relatives, of imagination. Etc.
But choice is stultified by choosing oneself into a dead-end of habits that lead to thorough and complete adaptation. Choosing is foreclosed. Adaptability is lost. There remains no choice but the habitual response.
Dignity is then achieved in the habit of asserting cortical control by inhibiting the stultifying effect of habit. The dignified person is one who always has choices.
(Last updated on January 30, 2006 )